mookarma

He was asking $14k but has decided to fix it himself and resell it. Might be convinced otherwise. Also has a coolant leak. I sourced a mechanic who had seen the car and he said even at $14k stay away from it from what he'd seen.

Another noobish question, just looking for input and advice- The 2002 is claimed to have a broken air-oil separator and back registration/minor issues that the owner simply can no longer afford. Obviously I'm concerned that there is something bigger hiding behind the AOS, and wanted to know if a PPI will turn out any other issues? Will a shop be able to perform a suitable PPI on a car with a broken AOS? Thanks so much

Haha I'll say! I'm looking at an '02 Carrera 4 cab with a blown air oil separator this week, hope to have it PPI'd and purchased in the same day (it's in LA and I'm in San Francisco) if all checks out. Approximately 70,000 miles but in good condition with a clean carfax and service records. Supposedly. Pretty excited!

Thanks guys.... I did decide to pass. Looking at a 2002 now with a blown air oil separator... hopefully things will work better with this one!

Wow.... yeah, that's 100 times more helpful than anything I've gotten! I'll give that dealership a call and see if I can flatter them. Thanks!

I tried that.... My local dealer tried and was unable to pull up anything other than the sale specs. Another dealer said they could only find service details if the service was performed at their dealership. The dealership I believe the engine was from said they couldn't release any information about the car due to privacy laws.

From their words it is a factory replacement engine. I don't know if this is true, but I do know that the housing is not coated in whatever the grey factory coating is, rather it is a shinier metal. From what I have read on this, the shiny metal indicates that it is indeed a replacement engine. I forgot that the indicators don't work (they stay stuck on) but am fairly confident I could fix that. Tires are in good condition, but nothing fancy. Nexens I believe. I didn't notice any smoke when starting the car and it pulled nicely (but what would I know?!) but I was not able to test if the steering tracked properly as the wheel was so close to my knees due to the broken seat. I'm looking to put in about $500 for new seats (pulled from a wreck) but unsure if they come with a motor and how memory seat controls (which the 996 has) function with a different seat. Ideally I'd wait on an ebay deal to replace the front and rear lights/casings, if I can clean the existing lights that's desirable too! My thought has been that if I can get a mechanically sound car with a low mileage replacement engine that has been mechanically maintained I can fix the cosmetic/light mechanical issues as I go. It's never going to be in 'excellent' condition, so that's kind of a bummer but so long as I can get it cheap enough and nothing blows up I think I can drive it for a year and not lose to much reselling it.

It is a C2 with almost no options, black interior, 6 spd manual.

Hi all, Been looking around here and found some great information, thanks for all you all do. I am looking at getting into a 1999 996 with 89,XXX miles. It is not in great cosmetic shape and anyone who has looked at it has passed on it so far. The current owner is selling for a friend (whose girlfriend drove/maintained it, apparently, supposedly) and does not know much about the car, so I have had to scrounge around placing calls to many different shops/dealers for information. What I know: Car had 85k service: clutch, plugs, oil, air filter, pollen filter, brakes. I need to dig deeper to find more information but not sure I will find anything. Car had engine replacement in 2006- I think I've found the dealer that at least sold them the engine (though I believe the work was done at an aftermarket shop that has since changed hands) but the dealer wouldn't tell me when it was purchased/installed due to the 'privacy act'. Ha. I have not run a carfax yet but I'm sure it's got a few pages of info, looking to run that tonight or tomorrow. I obviously plan on getting a PPI at a local shop prior to any money changing hands. The car has been neglected cosmetically, but it's all stuff I can fix and/or have fixed: Front bumper paint is cracking beneath the clearcoat. Headlights need new fog light bulbs. They are very faded, plastic/gaskets look terrible, probably would change. Taillights- one bulb on 3rd (4th?) light needs replacing. Main lights need new housings as the plastic is starting to deteriorate. Dent in roof just above windshield Driver's seat does not move, leather is completely ripped. Rear spoiler skirt is completely shredded/missing. Ignition is funky. Rims need serious refinishing around the lips. Interior coin tray is broken in open position. I have researched most of these and know the cost and whatnot associated with them. I know this car will never be a show-stopper, I'm hoping to get it into 'good' condition for a 12yr old car, it will be kept outside and under cover, not in a garage. All that said (if you've made it this far, thanks!), I'm fairly sure I can get the car for $9500-$10000. My questions are, is there anything I should be looking for? I've searched and read several articles regarding the IMS, cylinder sleeves, etc- and 2006 seems to be the last year they put in the little corrections and might have gotten it almost (knock on wood) right.. yes no maybe? I know that's a loaded question! Any help or advice you can offer would be fantastic! Thanks in advance and thanks in retrospect for all I've already learned from your site.